Entry 8
Ephesus
Our seminar regarding Ephesus began with the Amazons. They mutilated themselves. Hated men. They slept with them then killed them. If they gave birth to a son, he was either killed or sold into slavery. The queen of the Amazons was named Ephesia. The Amazons worshipped the god Artemis. The Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, is still seen today at Ephesus.
Women living in Ephesus had rights and were permitted to own and operate shops. Ephesus was an advanced and wealthy city. The wealth of the city was sourced from the Temple of Artemis. The entire town financed their lives by selling trinkets of Artemis. My mind began to reel when I realized that the same thing was still happening today. Across Greece souvenir shops are still gathering the wealth of travelers from all over the world selling trinkets of the ancient false gods of Greece.
The day the Temple was burnt down was the day Alexander The Great was born.
Paul preached in the Grand Theater. It was a hard place to preach the gospel because in order to turn to Jesus and be saved they had to turn away from Artemis and their exclusive source of wealth for the entire town.
John brought Mary, the mother of Jesus, here and she lived here for awhile.
Over the last 100 years excavation of Ephesus has been an on going effort.
Our guide had worked there for 22 years. It’s been 22 years since we’ve been there.
As our ship neared the shores of Kushadasi, Türkiye, the home of Ephesus, at 1:37am I was awakened to what felt like intense labor pains! Wave upon wave hit me and as they hit I heard the Holy Spirit say “violent labor pains”! About 3 times they grew so intense I could not breathe. I quickly went to the floor and prayed my most powerful prayer “Jesus help me!” The Lord stepped in and strengthened me. The waves of attack began to lessen after that point. As this demonic encounter neared it’s end I heard Holy Spirit utter “spirit of the Amazons”.
I learned later that Artemis was the god of childbirth, and foolish people would offer sacrifices to her in order to secure a blessed delivery. I had faced a force threatened by my presence.
Often just the simple act of facing demonic forces and turning to God for help qualifies us to become a super force of overcoming! The power released in these unpleasant moments will last for the rest of our lives!
The next day I stood before the temple of Artemis drenched in the dew of Heaven radiating with the glory of the Lord. My boys and I entered the library of Ephesus and commanded angels armies to establish Kingdom dominion.
After returning home and recounting the details of this full experience I became aware that through this He had released to me a new piece of spiritual armor that I would now carry forever.
May I encourage you today to take the hand of the Most High and advance forward through the pressure and into the new place of destiny He has for you!